Richard of Cornwall's Palace at Beckley

This drawing - published in John Dunkin's 'History and Antiquities of Bullingdon and Ploughley' (1823) - depicts part of the fortifications which once surrounded Richard of Cornwall's former palace at Beckley.

Construction of the palace began during the 13th century (although some sources claim the 11th century), on a piece of land known as 'Duffus Field'. In the 18th century, the moat and much of the earthworks were still visible, along with the tower shown in the image; at this point in history, the tower was being used as a dovehouse (hence the field's name - 'duffus' is 'dovehouse', in the old local dialect!).